Report: More than 100 million suffer lasting pain

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By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON — Nearly a third of Americans experience long-lasting pain — the kind that lingers for weeks to months — and too often feel stigma rather than relief from a health care system poorly prepared to treat them, the Institute of Medicine said Wednesday.

The staggering tab: Chronic pain is costing the nation at least $558 billion a year in medical bills, sick days and lost productivity, the report found. That's more than the cost of heart disease, the No. 1 killer.

All kinds of ailments can trigger lingering pain, from arthritis to cancer, spine problems to digestive disorders, injuries to surgery. Sometimes, chronic pain can be a disease all its own, the report stressed.

Whatever the cause, effective pain management is "a moral imperative," the report concludes, urging the government, medical groups and insurers to take a series of steps to transform the field.

"We're viewing this as a critical issue for the United States," said Dr. Philip Pizzo, Stanford University's dean of medicine, who chaired the months-long probe.

For too long, doctors and society alike have viewed pain "with some prejudice, a lot of judgment and unfortunately not a lot of informed fact," he said.

The toll isn't surprising, said Dr. Doris K. Cope, pain chief at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who paused between patients Wednesday to read the report. The population's getting older and less fit, and more survivors of diseases like cancer live for many years with side effects from treatments that saved them.

Too many patients think a pill's the answer, she said, when there are multiple different ways to address pain including physical therapy, stress reduction, weight loss, and teaching coping skills. Patients who take control of their pain fare better, but too many have unrealistic expectations.

"Pain is not simple," Cope said. "We as physicians need to be healers and educators as well as technicians. We certainly don't want to be pill mills."

Mandy Garten has been living with pain since she was 10 years old. She suffers from fibromyalgia, a pain felt all over body. She sometimes has to use a wheelchair.

After months of intense treatments, including physical therapy and injections, Garten is getting some relief.

"I'm finally walking, thinking about working (and) thinking about the future. It wasn't like that before," she said.

Doctors say do worry about over-prescribing narcotic painkillers, and law enforcement steps to fight the serious problem of prescription drug abuse can be one barrier to pain care. But the institute countered that it's far more likely for a pain patient to get inadequate care than for a drug-seeker to walk out with an inappropriate prescription. While newer, better medicines are needed, those narcotic painkillers are a safe and effective option for the right patient, the report said.

But barriers to good care extend far beyond that issue, said the panel, which analyzed research and the reports of more than 2,000 patients and caregivers about pain's toll.

Because pain can't be seen like bleeding, or felt like a lump, or X-rayed like a broken bone, or heard like a skipped heartbeat, health workers who wrongly believe the intensity of pain should correlate to a specific medical finding may diminish or even dismiss a patient's complaint, the report found.

In fact, pain is highly subjective. Two people with the same injury may feel different degrees of pain depending on genetic factors that affect pain tolerance, what other illnesses they have, stress or depression, and even whether they feel support or criticism from health workers or their families.

Care must be tailored to each patient. Yet too few doctors are trained in its management, the report said, citing a study that found stand-alone pain courses aren't required in most medical schools. Also, insurance may not cover time-consuming counseling in pain-management techniques, consultations with specialists or even non-drug care.

Pizzo called the finances sometimes perverse: Some insurance pays for an operation for low back pain but not much cheaper and often more effective physical therapy.

And prompt care for acute pain, like that from surgery or a broken bone, is important as well. Serious pain that isn't properly treated sometimes can hijack the nervous system and essentially rewire it for pain — leaving misery after the condition that caused the initial pain is resolved.

The report concluded at least 116 million adults suffer long-lasting pain, consistent with some previous estimates, but couldn't say how many cases are severe or disabling.

The economic costs, however, are sure to attract attention in Congress, which mandated the report as part of the new health care law. The report found health care for pain costs $261 billion to $300 billion a year, while lost productivity adds another $297 billion to $336 billion. The federal Medicare program accounts for a quarter of those health bills.

pipcoltJul 5, 2011

I would not count on a fast fix for the system. I have been dealing with RSD for over 20 years and at times it almost pushed me to the end. Most Health care providers do not know what RSD is and how much burning pain it can cause. When you go for help they think you are just a junkie wanting a fix. I had to learn how to control the pain on my own. Just in the past few years I have found a doctor that has studied RSD and has been a great help to me in finding a better ways to control the pain. It has only taken 18 plus years for health care to study and understand that there are people out here that are hurting but will not ask for help because of the lack of knowledge of the healthcare system and the label that is put on you if you do ask for help. And the goverment turns there back on you also when asking for help. All that you can do is sit in the corner and suffer by yourself and hope someday help will come.

JustOneGodLessThanUJul 5, 2011

@hemp4victory, IMO the main reason that pot is still illegal... a large number off people want to impose their Puritanical "values" on everyone else.

It's not enough that these folks don't want to use it themselves...for pain relief or whatever...they want to use the gubmint to control you...a consenting adult.

Just ask these self-professed "less government" folks and they'll tell ya..."TSK TSK, hippie...you don't get to have fun on my watch! Or, I'll call the cops on ya."

hemp4victoryJul 5, 2011

Does anybody here believe cannabis is illegal because it is dangerous and the government is trying to protect us from the evil weed ?

Before you answer think of tobacco, booze / beer, tylenol, and the myriad of prescription drugs each one with a multitude of side effects that have to make one wonder why anybody would even consider taking them, the many poisonous plants that can kill you or make you wish you were dead all growing in our backyards and readily available at your local garden center........Alcohol is poison in the human body hence "InTOXICation" Tylenol can kill your liver with just one overdosage, If Tylenol were to come into market for approval today it would be DENIED...

Refer Madness,,, the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on humanity!

Its time to end this nonsense, Cannabis eradication has to stop!

JustOneGodLessThanUJul 5, 2011

@DavidJonathan, the same people who use Big Government to keep you from consuming a naturally growing weed also don't want you to end your life if you have extreme and endless pain (e.g. cancer).

They want you to just suffer. ...suffer in agonizing pain until you die of old age...or your heart gives out from the stress.

pattip574Jul 4, 2011

great article! I have fibromyalgia and the only pain med I use is tylenol or motrin. I have a great dr who prescribed cymbalta and physical therapy. Ultrasound therapy has worked wonders, but I still have bad days. Take control of your symptoms and if you get no relief, find a new dr.